


Tabby Cat

by awkwardsocialskills



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Cats, Clexa, F/F, Fluff, Neighbor au, Short Stories, Slow Burn, Tabby Cat, domestic AU, one shot series, one shots, prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-05-27 06:10:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 17,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15018377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardsocialskills/pseuds/awkwardsocialskills
Summary: "What?" Clarke muttered.She closed the app and reopened it. The small spot on the the tracker showed up in the same spot. Confused, Clarke restarted her phone and went back onto the app. The dot still hadn't moved.Why is my cat at my neighbor's house, Clarke thought.Why is he at my super hot neighbor's house of all of them?ORClarke's cat chills are her neighbor's house everyday.





	1. The Collar

"Okay. How does that feel, Jack?"

Clarke stood up and looked at her orange tabby. He just spun in a small circle and nudged the door with his nose.

"Okay, okay. Here you go. Have fun. Don't get into trouble." Clarke opened the door and watched her cat trot outside and into the street.

She gave it a few minutes before she pulled out her phone and checked the app she had just downloaded on her phone. Being an indoor/outdoor cat, Jack wandered around outside every day, but Clarke had never seen him wandering around whenever she was outside. So she went out and found a tracker collar to put on him to satisfy her curiosity. And Raven and Octavia hadn't let her live down the purchase since she bought the collar just five hours ago.

"What?" Clarke muttered.

She closed the app and reopened it. The small spot on the the tracker showed up in the same spot. Confused, Clarke restarted her phone and went back onto the app. The dot still hadn't moved.

 _Why is my cat at my neighbor's house_ , Clarke thought. _Why is he at my super hot neighbor's house of all of them _?__

__After a couple minutes of debating, Clarke grabbed her shoes and made her way next door._ _

____

Lexa Woods had moved in next door three years ago, and Clarke had been making an idiot of herself ever since. Garbage bags breaking as Lexa leaves for her run in the morning. Knocking over the entire garbage bin when Lexa got _back_ from said run. Closing her scarf _and_ hair in her car door when Lexa got home at the same time as her. And that was only the start of it. Clarke had developed this crush almost instantly when she first saw her. Lexa had been unloading a U-Haul by herself when Clarke first saw her, and Clarke had almost stabbed herself with the butter knife she had been using. That crush had just gotten worse since then.

____

Now Clarke had to willingly go interact with the woman that turns her into a clumsy idiot?

____

Fantastic.

____

"Oh, hey!" Lexa smiled when Clarke knocked.

____

"Hey, this might sound a little weird, but you wouldn't happen to have seen a fat orange cat, would you?"

____

"Yeah, Jack's taking a nap right now."

____

"I'm sorry. Did...did you just say he's...taking a _nap_?"

____

"Yeah. Is that okay? He just started scratching at the door when I moved in, and I didn't want to leave him outside. He just comes in and naps on my lap. I give him a little piece of cheese or some bacon. I think he enjoys it, or he wouldn't come back everyday." Lexa babbled.

____

"I..."

____

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep."

____

"No, no. It's fine. I'm not mad. I'm just shocked. He's been leaving my house to come hang out at yours. Then he comes back at the same time every night. You're okay with him just coming over to nap?"

____

Lexa's green eyes lit up," Of course! He's just a big cuddle monster."

____

"Yeah, I suppose he is."

____

"Do you want to see him? So that you know I'm not just lying. Also because it's pretty rude of me to let you stand out here."

____

"Oh. I trust you, but yeah sure."

____

Lexa led her into the living room and pointed at the couch. Right there, next to the far armrest, was a massive orange lump laying on his back.

____

"Jack, you traitor!" Clarke giggled.

____

"That's his spot." Lexa laughed," Are you going to take him home?"

____

"Well, you said he was your cuddle buddy. I can't just take him away. You expect kitty cuddles every day."

____

"Then do you want to stay for dinner?"

____

Clarke felt her face heat up," Oh, uh...I don't want to intrude."

____

"No intrusion. It's just me and Jack. I would love if you stayed, and I'm sure Jack would love the extra attention."

____

"If you're sure..."

____

"Absolutely. How does spaghetti sound?"

____

"Fantastic."

____

Clarke followed Lexa into the kitchen and kept her company while she boiled water. Lexa poured them some wine, and they had their first real conversation.

____

"So you moved here from Polis, right?"

____

"Right. I moved here for a law internship while I get my PhD in Environmental Sciences."

____

"Oh wow. That's impressive."

____

"Thanks. What about you? Have you always lived in Arkadia?"

____

"Sort of. I lived out in the country with my parents for awhile, but we moved into the city when I was nine because my mom got a big break in her career and needed to be closer to the hospital in town."

____

"Is she a doctor?"

____

"She's a surgeon. One of the more...known surgeons in the world."

____

"And what about your dad?"

____

"He was an engineer, but he decided that he would rather be a house husband and started taking care of the house. Mostly, he just wanted an excuse to play with his tools around the house whenever he wanted."

____

Lexa laughed," He sounds like a fun guy."

____

"Oh he is."

____

They didn't realize how long they had been talking and heard hissing coming from behind them. Lexa jumped up and hurried to get the boiling water under control. Their conversation didn't stop for long. Soon, they were eating and talking and exchanging phone numbers.

____

"Oh, I forgot to ask you a couple things." Lexa said as Clarke hefted Jack into her arms.

____

"Yeah?" Clarke asked.

____

"How did you know to find Jack over here?"

____

"I got this tracker collar because I wanted to see where he goes every day."

____

"Fair enough. I have one more question."

____

"Okay."

____

"Why did you name him Jack?"

____

"Because he's a jackass."

____


	2. The Vase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clexa is moving in together! Jack is being a cat! Raven likes memes!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, fellow readers!
> 
> Many people asked for a continuation, and I don't have a story in mind for this. Instead, I have decided to make this a one-shot series, featuring Jack the Tabby Cat!
> 
> Let me know if there is a specific scenario you want to see or a certain time in their lives, but I sure as heck am going to try to get some updates done when I can! I do check the comments just about every day, so I will see any and all comments made if you have any ideas.
> 
> Thank you for the support!! <3

"What are we going to do with him, Lex?" Clarke asked, her hands on her hips.

"What do you mean?" Lexa glanced at the cat and back at her girlfriend.

"Look at him, babe. He's stuck. And he won't let me move him. I think- I think he _likes_ it in there."

"He's a cat. Of course he likes it in there."

Clarke huffed and watched as her cat kept snoozing in a vase he'd knocked over and squished himself into.

"I liked that vase." Clarke whimpered.

"I know, babe, but I think Jack likes it more."

"Where am I supposed to keep the roses now?"

"I'll buy you roses with a vase next time. Jack can keep that one."

"What if it breaks?"

Lexa sighed," Clarke, he's fine. Let's get the rest of the boxes moved in here and then we can worry about getting Jack out of his napping vase."

"It's not a napping vase! It's for the roses!"

Clarke chased after Lexa as she went back out to the moving truck. They bickered as Lexa managed to load a small box into Clarke's arms. They spent the better part of an hour moving boxes into the new house and waiting for Lincoln and Bellamy to show up to help with the furniture.

"Where are those boys?" Clarke asked, staring at her phone.

"Better question," Lexa started," Where's the cat?"

Clarke gasped and looked at the now empty vase. She spun around, saw the closed front door, and turned to her girlfriend," Did he get out? I know he's an indoor-outdoor cat, but he's never been in this neighborhood, and I wanted to see him off before he got out!"

"Babe, isn't he wearing a tracker collar?"

"Oh. Right. He's-he's in the driveway? But the truck takes up the whole driveway."

"I'll check around the furniture. You check under the trailer. We'll find him." Lexa said softly.

Clarke nodded and marched out the front door. She didn't find him under the truck and decided to help Lexa look around all the furniture instead of panicking. Lexa mentioned that the last place to check was the dresser drawers, but she didn't know how he could ever get himself in there. But of course, when Clarke dragged open the bottom drawer, Jack shot out and sprinted back towards the house. They started to follow, only to be stopped by Lincoln.

"Hey, Linc!" Lexa beamed.

"I thought you called the cavalry to help with the furniture. Why are you two working on it by yourselves?" He asked.

"We weren't but if we _were_ , it's because you and Bell waited until we were eighty to come and help." Clarke sassed, watching to make sure Jack didn't come back out without saying goodbye.

"That's not my fault. Bellamy was trying to drag along Octavia and Raven."

Clarke tore her eyes away from the front door," And?"

" _We are not moving furniture without pizza and beer, you freeloader_."

"I'm surprised Raven didn't start screaming sooner." Lexa giggled.

"I'm surprised Bellamy hasn't come running in here yet." Clarke added.

Right on queue, Bellamy appeared at the end of the truck, rubbing his shoulder," I'm not the only one that knows hitting is bad, right? That's still a thing when you're an adult?"

"Suck it up, Bell. You're such a four year old." Octavia walked up and punched his other shoulder.

Raven flung an arm around his shoulders," Now where's my pizza?"

Octavia let them work out the pizza situation," Clarkey, where's my nephew?"

Clarke gasped yet again," Hang on."

She hurried inside, Lexa right on her feet. Lexa found him first.

"Um...Clarke?"

"Wha- _what the fuck, Jack?_ "

"What happened?" Octavia asked from right behind them.

Laughing, Lexa picked up the cat filled vase.

From the very back of the small group, Raven snickered and said," Wow. The harvest is bountiful this year."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! Like I said, let me know if you have any ideas for prompts or any scenarios you want to see done. I'm also open to different perspectives and re-writing endings for go a different way.
> 
> \---L


	3. Linctavia Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How would Jack do with kids? Well, let's see how he does with kids that don't live with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked how Jack does with kids! There will be 2 chapters because I have 2 ideas in mind.
> 
> Sorry about the wait! I haven't had the opportunity to be on my laptop for a while. But here we are!

Lexa was curled up with Jack on the couch when the doorbell rang. Jack opened one lazy eye and proceeded to stretch further on her lap. Lexa frowned at him and glanced around. Clarke was in the shower, so she had to get the door. But it's basically illegal to move a sleeping cat.

Especially Jack.

He was too soft and warm to _want_ to move.

She took so long trying to figure out what she was going to do that the person started banging on the door.

"I'm coming!" Lexa called, still trying to think of a way to not break this sacred, unwritten law.

"Hurry up, Woods! We have reservations in an hour, and Polis isn't exactly next door!"

Lexa sighed at Octavia's impatience and lightly nudged Jack.

"I'm sorry, kitty, but you have to move."

Jack let out a content sigh.

"Jack, come on!" Lexa whined.

" _Lexa, push the damn cat off your lap and open the door!_ " Octavia called.

"Okay, okay!" Lexa gingerly slipped her arms under Jack and lifted him. He growled lightly and hopped onto the ground. Pouting slightly, Lexa got to her feet," I'm sorry, Jack."

He sat in the corner with his back to her and started licking his paw.

Lexa rolled her eyes and went to answer the door.

"About damn time." Octavia grumbled, dropping a massive bag at Lexa's feet," Here you go."

"Thanks." Lexa mumbled, taking the toddler that was now reaching for her. He clung to her and started giggling. She couldn't help but laugh a bit," Hi, Jonah."

"Lessy!" He giggled.

"Auntie Lexa and Auntie Clarkey are gonna play with you while Mommy and Daddy go on a date, okay?"

"Kay." Jonah started playing with Lexa's hair.

"He's got all his usual things, and he's finally over that cold. So he should be easy. His current food obsession is peanut butter, so I hope you have a full jar because that boy can eat." Octavia said, double checking the contents of the bag.

"Clarke has an obsession too. We have plenty." Lexa nodded.

"Good to know. Come here, baby. Give Mama a kiss goodbye."

Jonah sloppy smacked his lips against her cheek, and Octavia hurried down to her car. Lincoln waved goodbye to them before Lexa closed the door.

"Okay, Jonah. Want to watch Paw Patrol?"

"PAW PATROL!"

She set down the squirming toddler, and he shot into the living room. Right where-

" _Crap_."

Lexa hurried into the living room and found the little boy sitting on the couch, holding the remote. Jack was on the other side of the room, staring at him suspiciously.

"Come here, Jack." Lexa scooped up the cat and brought him to the kitchen," You stay in here, sir. He'll leave you alone. Now you better leave him alone."

All she got in response was a small growl.

"Yeah...Just stay here." Lexa said hesitantly. She put up a baby gate in the living room doorway and turned to help Jonah turn on his favorite show. Clarke came down just as they started their first episode.

"My big man is here!" Clarke scooped him into her arms and started tickling him. Jonah shrieked in laughter.

"Auntie Car!"

"Are we watching Paw Patrol? Finally!" Clarke plopped down next to her girlfriend, Jonah still in her arms.

They were three episodes, and two snack breaks in when Lexa spotted Jack at the gate. Jonah was currently coloring, but the cat was well in his view. Lexa could see trouble before it even happened.

"Um...Clarke?" She whispered.

"Hmm?" Clarke glanced up from her sketch book and saw the cat staring down the three year old," Oh."

"I'm going to go put Jack upstairs."

"Probably best."

Lexa had barely gotten to her feet when Jack jumped the gate and skirted around the edge of the room. She froze, watching him stalk around the walls with his eyes locked on Jonah.

"Jack..." She warned.

He slowly veered away from the wall and settled in a crouch, his eyes turning to slits.

"Come here, Jack."

He let out a small growl and jumped forward. Lexa caught him with practiced ease, and he was not happy about it. He let out a series of growls, and strangely enough, he started purring.

Lexa sighed," You're so weird."

He let out a couple of soft meows and sprung out of her arms. Jack padded up to Jonah, softly batted at his leg, and trotted away with a growl.

Clarke and Lexa stared at each other in confusion. Jonah just kept on coloring, not even faded by the cat's strange behavior. In fact, he let out a small yawn. Lexa checked the time and sprang to her feet.

"Come on, bud! It's almost bedtime. We gotta go take a bath."

Jonah pouted, yawned again, and nodded.

"I'll go start the water." Lexa kissed Clarke's forehead and disappeared upstairs.

Clarke lifted Jonah into her arms," How about you help me get your clothes and toys?"

"Kitty?" Jonah asked innocently.

"Not kitty. He's grumpy. What about your rubber ducky?"

"Kitty!"

"Jonah, I don't-"

"Kitty!" He pouted over her shoulder.

Clarke turned around and saw Jack tugging Jonah's bag toward the gate.

"Jack!" Clarke started.

Jack flinched. He glanced at her, stole a baggie of animal crackers, and jumped over the gate.

"Lexa!" Clarke shouted.

"Yeah?" She called from upstairs.

"Jack's stealing again!"

"It's his world, Clarke! We just live in it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack strikes again!
> 
> And again.
> 
> And again...
> 
> I have the next two chapters planned out (more or less) but I still will take ideas! Give me any scenarios you want to see!
> 
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Thank you for all the support! You guys are amazing!!!


	4. Clexa Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack feat. kids parts 2! Different child this time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is part 2 of Jack with kids!
> 
> It's very short, so I'm sorry about that. But this is a double update, so hopefully that'll make up for it!

"He doesn't like Jonah. Or Eva. Or Preston. He doesn't like kids, Lex. He's not going to like Aiden." Clarke babbled.

"It'll be okay, Clarke. We just need to make sure he's not near him unsupervised, and he can't go into the nursery at all." Lexa soothed.

"I'm worried."

"I know you are, baby, but it'll be okay."

"That's because Jack has you wrapped around his paw."

"Be that as it may, I'm still sure it will be just fine. Now, we can't sit in the car forever. We need to take Aiden inside at some point, and you need to sleep."

Clarke grumbled but opened her door. Lexa got out and grabbed their newborn son out of the car. He was fast asleep, his face partially hidden under a green hat (unexpectedly knitted by Lincoln).

"Lexa, are you sure-"

"Clarke. Please open the door." Lexa said calmly.

She huffed and unlocked the door," Jack?"

Clarke tiptoed inside and glanced around.

"Baby, just go to the living room. We'll handle Jack whenever he shows up again."

"Fine, fine. I just don't want anything bad to happen to Aiden."

"Nothing will happen. We're here to protect him. That's kind of our job."

"I know."

Clarke and Lexa sat down on the couch, Aiden in his carrier in front of them. Lexa sat back while Clarke gently lifted their son out of his carrier. The three of them cuddled together. Aiden kept napping while his moms marveled at the new addition to their family.

"He's perfect." Clarke whispered.

Lexa pressed a kiss to Clarke's temple and held her tight. They didn't say anything for a few minutes until Lexa felt Clarke start to tense up.

"Clarke." She warned.

"He's right there!" Clarke nodded towards the vase they often found on the floor.

"Just let him sleep then. Savor the quiet times."

"I don't trust him."

"He's sleeping."

"He's stretching!"

Lexa looked back at the cat and saw him slowly slipping out of the vase.

"Leave Jack alone, baby. He'll be fine."

Clarke ignored her and stared down her cat. In turn, Jack yawned, stretched again, and strolled over to the couch. He hopped onto the empty cushion and finally spotted the baby. He sniffed for about a minute, placed a paw on Aiden's leg, and looked at Lexa.

After a few tense moments, Jack turned in a circle and plopped down, his head on Aiden's leg. Clarke let out the breath she had been holding and sunk down against Lexa. Lexa just rolled her eyes.

"I told you." She said smugly.

"I'll fight you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. It is."

"Prove it, punk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for how short it is. But at least Jack is nice towards baby Aiden?
> 
> Send me ideas! Let me know what you think!
> 
> Thank you for reading


	5. Ham

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a new kitten!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE!! IT'S A TRIPLE UPDATE!!
> 
> This was inspired by my girlfriend! One of our many inside jokes!
> 
> Also, I don't know if I've said it here, but I don't edit unless I go back and read. So I'm sorry for mistakes. I'll probably find them eventually. This one might be worse because it's almost 2 in the morning, and I'm sleepy. But I was inspired so it happened anyway.

Clarke shut the front door as quiet as possible and looked around. Once she realized Lexa and Jack were nowhere to be seen, she tiptoed into the kitchen and hid in the pantry. Lexa like to take her out on picnics, so there was a blanket in there. And the basket would be perfect.

"Shh. It's okay, little one." She whispered, getting the picnic basket all set up. It took a bit longer than she wanted since she only had one hand, but as soon as she was done, she set the smallest kitten she had ever seen in the middle of the basket and stood up.

"You stay here, little one. I'm going to get you some milk." Clarke said softly.

"Who are you talking to?" Lexa opened the door.

Clarke squeaked and spun around," Lexa!"

"What are you doing, Clarke? You look more guilty than the time you ate an entire cheesecake."

"First of all, I was pregnant. Second of all, where is our child?"

"Napping, as usual. You still didn't tell me who you're talking to or what you're doing."

"I'm just..."

The smallest mew came from behind her.

"Clarke..."

"Before you say anything, I just need to tell you-"

"Did you bring home a kitten?"

"She was homeless!"

"How do you know?"

"Because she was all alone, and it looks like he eyes and ears _just_ opened. She can barely walk. She's so skinny. She was all alone."

"Clarke, our lives are chaos."

"Kittens have similar feeding times to babies. We can start feeding them at the same times!"

"I don't know, Clarke."

"Lexa, just look at her."

"I'm only considering this because I love you."

"That's more than enough." Clarke insisted and moved to a side.

Lexa peered down into the basket and saw the smallest black kitten she had ever seen.

"She's so tiny."

"Please, can we keep her?" Clarke begged.

"We don't know how Jack will respond."

"Why don't we test it now?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"I think it's too late for that." Clarke watched a tall orange tail trot into the pantry and start sniffing at the kitten. In turn, the kitten started mewing very loudly. Jack sniffed at her and placed a paw on her head. The kitten just stopped mewing. Instead, she stared at Jack. His paw just stayed on her head, as if he knew that she would start crying again if he moved it.

"I think they're fine." Clarke smiled.

Lexa sighed," Okay, baby. We can keep her."

Clarke squealed and kissed her wife," Thank you thank you thank you."

"I need to go check on the ham. Please keep an eye on them."

The kitten started mewing again when Lexa mentioned food. Clarke looked down and smiled," What is it? Do you like ham?"

She mewed a bit louded, and Jack lightly bopped her on the head.

"You should bring her a little piece of ham when you come back." Clarke grinned.

Lexa rolled her eyes and left. She came back with a small chunk of ham. The kitten sniffed it and got a few licks in before Jack chomped it all down. She mewed at him in offense.

"Is it mean, or does her meow sound kinda like 'ham'?" Clarke asked.

"You know...it kind of does." Lexa frowned, watching the kitten scream at their cat.

"That's her name." Clarke decided," Her name is now Ham."

"You're no longer allowed to name any children or pets."

"It's a good name!"

"Whatever you say, babe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ham the kitten!! (P.S. I did mean to write mew, not meow or mewl)
> 
> Send ideas!!
> 
> Let me know what you think!!
> 
> Thank you for still reading!!!!!


	6. Goodnight, Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cats are nocturnal. NIGHT TIME SHENANIGANS ENSUE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @Lunnary for the idea! I hope you enjoy!

Clarke whined and pushed Jack off the bed yet again.

"Jack! Let me sleep! I've got to get up in...three hours!" She whined.

"I'll lock him out." Lexa mumbled before halfheartedly pushing herself out of bed and cracking open her eyes. It took a couple seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and focus enough to find the orange blob getting ready to pounce on the bed again. She not so gracefully grabbed him and tossed him just outside the door. Just as she was going to shut him out, he ran back in and sat at the foot of the bed.

Lexa sighed and heaved him back out into the hallway. He ran inside again.

"You're more asleep than I am, Lex. Get back in bed. I'll lock him out." Clarke got up and grabbed her cat.

Lexa muttered in agreement and fell back into bed.

Clarke quickly shut Jack in the hallway and dove under the blankets again. She curled up and ran her arms around Lexa, who sunk into her. The sighed in contentment and were just starting to fall asleep when the door started to jiggle.

Very loudly.

"What is he doing?" Clarke grumbled, rolling away from Lexa.

"He just wants love." Lexa said.

"He was literally jumping on my face."

The door fell silent, and for a few moments, they thought Jack had laid down for a nap. But then they heard him start running. Lexa starting giggling. She always did when she saw him run. She said he was made to be a lap cat, not a hunter.

Clarke just glared at the door. She thought it was funny when he ran too since he didn't do it very often, but she had to wake up in three hours and work an eighteen hour shift at the hospital.

"Why does he have to see a ghost now of all times?" Clarke questioned.

"I think you're asking the wrong question." Lexa started," You should be asking, why did the ghost decide to should themselves at this very moment? Also, why are they tormenting our poor Jack?"

"You mean why are they tormenting me?"

"Aw, baby." Lexa snuggled closer to her girlfriend, hoping to make her smile at least a little.

"We're lucky we don't have a baby yet." Clarke grumbled," They would be screaming their little head off right now with that maniac running from ghosts and chasing imaginary birds."

"Jack doesn't like birds. He likes sharks."

"Lexa, he can't chase sharks. He doesn't like water."

"But he loves watching them in our documentaries."

"But he hates water, baby."

"I think he's still chasing imaginary sharks."

"And I think you need to go back to sleep."

"Sounds good to me. Come here and cuddle!"

"How can you sleep when he's making all that noise?" Clarke pointed at the door when Jack was now jumping and scratching.

"Why don't we let him outside for the night?"

"I've done that before, and he brings half dead animals home."

"Ew."

"Yeah. He's not going outside."

"Can we let him back in?"

"That's what he wants. That's why he's making noise."

"Exactly."

"But he'll jump on my face again!"

"I'll cuddle him the whole time."

"What about my cuddles?"

"We're not making much progress here."

Clarke sighed," Can we lock him in the bathroom?"

"He'll just knock everything over in there. That's almost more noise."

"How about the closet?"

"Do you want ripped scrubs?"

"Fine. Put him outside them. I'll deal with the dead mice."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We'll just set down some towels before he's allowed in again so we can throw away his dead animal easier."

"Okay, baby. I'll be right back."

"Don't let him steal all of my cuddles before you come back!"

"No promises!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is before Aiden was born. These stories aren't all going to be in order.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Send in ideas!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	7. Sun Spot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cats like laying in the sun, right? Jack knows how to get what he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got bored at work waiting for my delivery driver to show up so I just kind of started writing.

Clarke and Aiden were playing in the living room. Well, Aiden was on his tummy, smacking the ground and trying to figure out how to crawl. Clarke was just cheering him on.

"Come on, Bubba, you can do it! You can do it!" Clarke said, clapping lightly.

Aiden babbled and started giggling at his mother's antics. He rolled onto his back and reached for her. Clarke laughed and scooped him up.

"You're gonna have to do it some time, Bubba. You're gonna get too big for me to carry one of these days."

Aiden just put his hands on her cheeks and squished them a little bit. Clarke giggled and grabbed his favorite blanket.

"I guess we can take a snack break."

After Aiden had a bottle and a 20 minute nap, he was awake and babbling again. Clarke placed him on his tummy again and took a couple steps back, trying to prompt him forward. She was so focused on him that she didn't notice Jack sneak in the room, looking for a place for _his_ nap.

Not until he laid down. On Aiden.

"Jack! What are you doing?" Clarke sighed and lifted him into her arms. She cradled him and scratched between his ears. He purred at her, closed his eyes, and stretched.

"You know better than to lay on him." Clarke said, snuggling her cat.

Jack let out another loud series of purrs. Clarke couldn't stay mad at him, especially because he hadn't even fazed Aiden, who was still smacking the floor.

"Honey, I'm home!" Lexa called and giggled.

"We're in the living room, you nerd!"

"I resent that." Lexa popped up in the doorway and hurried over to kiss her wife, cat, and son."

"You do what you want, baby. Also, you have fantastic timing. Can you tell me why, of all the places in the living room, Jack had to lay _on top_ of Aiden?"

"It's the only patch of sun in the whole room."

"Wha-" Clarke looked around. Lo and behold, Aiden was currently chewing on a toy in the only sun spot in the whole place.

"You must have given him the best pets in the world. Look at that face." Lexa pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures.

Clarke tried _so hard_ not to burst out laughing. Jack's head was leaning back, his lips hanging back and exposing all of his teeth and his tongue lulling out the side.

"That is a face only a mother could love." Clarke giggled before leaning him forward and kissing the soft spot on his head.

"Ja!" Aiden squeaked.

"What is it, Bubba?" Clarke asked.

"Ja!" He smacked the ground a few times and pushed his chest off the ground.

"Do you want to come say hi to the kitty?" Clarke turned to show him Jack.

Aiden squeaked a few more times and kicked his feet. After a couple minutes of encouraging from both of his moms, Aiden started slowly scooting his way forward in a shaky crawl.

Lexa swept him into the air and showered him with kisses.

"Guess all he needed was a cat for motivation." Clarke said.

Jack leaped out of her arms and immediately curled up in the patch of sun.

"Guess he just really wanted that sun spot." Lexa laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! And if you have anything you want to see!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Hello Jack!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HOW CLARKE GOT JACK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DON'T KNOW WHY I DIDN'T WRITE THIS SOONER

"Anything in particular that you're looking for?" The lady behind the desk asked.

"Just a friend."

"Fair enough. Where would you like to start?"

"Um...how about the cats?"

"Sure! Right this way."

Clarke followed the lady into a short hall and through a door on the right.

"So you're looking for a friend. Do you have a personality in mind?"

"Just anything that sticks out to me. I love all animals, so I want to go in with an open mind toward everyone."

"Oh! That's very...kind of you."

Clarke suppressed a frown, knowing that it was better not to argue with the only working person at the shelter. But this person was making it very difficult. She had had her nose held high since the moment Clarke walked in. Viewing the cats, then the dogs just seemed to make the lady's attitude towards her worse. By the time they returned to the front desk, both of them were wearing fake smiles.

"So? Who would you like?" The woman pushed one more time.

"Like I have said multiple times already, I'd like to think on it."

"Surely one of them had to stick out to you."

"Well, there were a few that were-"

"Hey, Betty. Got a crazy one here for you." A wild looking man hobbled in with a growling cat carrier.

Betty sighed," You know what to do with him, Frank. Take him to the back. Dr. Vasquez won't be in for another hour."

"Oh, that's fine. He's just come from the vets. I found him last week. Poor thing was sitting out in the rain. No tags. No owner. I tried calling around, and no one-"

"Frank, just talk him back. You know the drill."

"I don't know if you want to put him up for adoption, Betty. He's a bit feisty."

"I'll take him."

Frank and Betty went silent, staring at Clarke.

"You'll what?" Betty asked.

"I'll take him. He's cute. He's got personality." Clarke knelt down, looking at the fat tabby in the carrier.

"How would you know?"

"Because he's been eating the door since he got here, is growling and purring at the same time, and he's orange."

"Orange?"

"Are you color blind, Betty?"

"No but-"

"Then I think you can see that he's orange. He's got personality. I'll take him. Before you even get him in the system, so no paperwork for you."

"I..." Betty just stared at Clarke in confusion.

"Pleasure doing business with you! He's been wanting to go outside every day, so best be aware of that. Probably was an indoor/outdoor cat at some point since he don't seem to mind people much. Oh, and he likes to snuggle up real close before bed." Frank smiled and shook her hand.

"Thank you, sir."

"Wait!" Betty scurried to the other side of her desk and cleared her throat," On behalf of Cisco Southside Animal Rescue, here is your new companion!"

Betty lifted the carrier, huffed at the unexpected weight, and froze. A steady stream was trickling out of the carrier, and right onto her shoes.

Clarke and Frank burst out laughing.

"I told you he was a feisty one, Betty!" Frank chuckled.

"You little jackass!" Betty screamed at the cat. Clarke swooped in and stole the carrier out of her hands.

"No one talks to my cat that way! I would go clean up if I were you. Jack and I will be on our way."

Clarke left the building, Frank on her heels.

"What are you going to name him?" Frank asked.

"Jack."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Or if you have ideas!
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	9. Birthday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt Summary: Lexa is getting hit on by a single mom during Aiden's birthday party, Clarke thinks it's hilarious, and Jack is being Jack
> 
> Thank you to @Alex for the idea! You're awesome :D

Clarke couldn't help but laugh as her wife yet again got stuck in a conversation with Emily Rogers. She watched as Lexa turned beet red in humiliation.

"What's that cat's name again? John?"

"J-Jack." Lexa corrected.

"He's batted at little Emmett twice."

"Yeah. Heh. He's not good with most kids. Or any really. Just Aiden."

"Wow. He must have a fantastic mom if he's brave enough to put up with such a mean cat."

"Jack isn't that mean, really. But yeah, Clarke's amazing."

"No, no. I was talking about you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're just so strong and beautiful. Aiden's really lucky to have such a great mom."

"Really, I wouldn't do that great without Clarke."

"But you're so calm all the time. Always keeping your head. You're just...so strong." Emily put a hand out and started squeezing Lexa's bicep.

Lexa's face went from red to purple in embarrassment," I mean I work out but-"

"Oh, I can tell."

Clarke was crying from how hard she was laughing. Lexa was so bad at attention, especially when it came from women she didn't want anything to do with. She turned into a rambling mess in half a second and always looked like she had the worst sunburn in the world.

"I'm just...I think...Cake! It's...it's cake time...now...I should go- um- get the cake. And a knife. Aiden! Come help me. With the cake." Lexa rambled.

"He's three. I don't know if he can help with the cake, hun."

"It's...he's moral support." Lexa sprinted in the other direction. Clarke was able to start breathing normal again when she noticed that Jack was in the backyard. At first, she was worried he was going to harm the children. Then she realized that he wasn't near the children. He was near the purses. In particular, he was near _Emily Rogers's_ purse.

She watched as his head disappeared in the bag and reappeared with her wallet. He glanced around, made eye contact with Clarke, and sprinted into the house, wallet still in his mouth.

Clarke burst out laughing again and went to find Lexa. She was cutting the cake, just as she told Emily. Only Emily was there with her, and Aiden was glaring at her.

"Be nice to my mommy." Aiden said grumpily.

"I am being nice to your mommy." Emily smiled.

"No, you said she's got a temper. That's not very nice. Say you're sorry!"

"But it's true, Aiden."

"I'm gonna stop you there, Emily. You can apologize to my son for upsetting him and insulting his mother. Then you can apologize to me for upsetting my son and insulting my wife. Then you can get your son and leave. You're being rude."

"I've done nothing but flirt with you the whole time!" Emily said in outrage.

"Which is extremely rude. I'm married with a child. You can leave with your son now."

Without anymore argument, Emily left. Clarke approached her family in the kitchen," Thank you both for standing up for my honor, and I have something that will make you both happy."

"And what's that, Clarke?" Lexa asked as she set Aiden on his feet.

"Jack stole her wallet."

"I've always loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read!
> 
> Let me know any ideas and what you think so far!


	10. Locked Out of Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke is sad. Jack is cuddly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is angsty and short. I'll make up for it in the next one, I promise!

For the first time in eight years, Clarke was stuck in bed. Not because she was sick. Not from breaking her leg.

This time, it was because her mother had called to tell her that her father had been in an accident and was currently in the ICU.

This time, Clarke was clinging to a pillow and gasping for breath through her tears because her father was just barely alive and fighting to stay in the world.

Clarke knew that she needed to get up and go to her father, but she couldn't. Her body won't relax enough for her to get out of bed. She couldn't even find it in her to stop gasping for breath.

For the eighth time in the past fifteen minutes, her phone blasted Locked out of Heaven. Lexa's ringtone on her phone. Clarke didn't have it in her to reach over and answer. She couldn't breathe. How could she talk. Instead, she buried her face in her pillow and let another wave of sobs take her over. Seven pings sounded from her phone, signalling many text messages, probably also from Lexa.

Clarke hiccuped a few times, trying to get her breathe to even out a bit. Even when she focused on calming down, her father flooded her mind. She collapsed into another wave of tears.

Suddenly, her bed shifted. Something soft brushed against her leg. Jack started moving closer and gingerly stepped on her arm. Clarke looked at him, and he nudged her wet cheek with his nose. She squirmed and pulled away a little. Being Jack, he plopped down right against her arm and started purring, rolling so that he was now being held by her.

She sniffled and hiccuped a couple more times. Jack kept purring and nudged her hand with his head. Clarke moved so that she was sitting with her legs crossed, Jack now cradled in her arms. He purred and started rubbing his head against her cheek. She nuzzled her face against him, and she would swear on her life that he hugged around her head.

Her ringtone blasted again.

This time, she reached over and read the two dozen texts. There were four voicemails left. She missed that last call, but the phone rang again almost right away.

"Lexa?"

"Clarke! Oh my god, I've been so worried. Are you okay? Are you home?"

"I'm fine. I'm home."

"Can I come over? Or do you want me to drive you to the hospital?"

"I..."

"I'm coming over. I'll be there in two minutes. I know where your spare key is."

"Thank you."

"Hang in there, baby. I'll be right there."

When Lexa hung up, Clarke dropped her phone back onto the side table and returned to her cuddle time with Jack.

He kept purring and rubbing his face against her cheek and hand. At one point, he grabbed her hand and held it to his chest, softly licking it.

"Thank you, Jack." She whispered.

"Clarke!" Lexa rushed into the room and gently sat down next to her," I see you have good company."

"He's so loving right now." Clarke whispered, scratching Jack between the ears. He closed his eyes and happily purred away.

"He knows you need love." Lexa said softly, kissing Clarke's temple.

"I'm glad he's trying to make me feel better. I was a mess before he came in here."

"I'm glad you have him. He's good for you."

"Me too."

"Would you like a ride to the hospital?"

"Yes please."

"We probably shouldn't bring Jack."

"He might eat a couple birds if we do."

"I was thinking babies, but birds is probably more accurate."

"Babies?" Clarke looked at her in alarm.

"What? There are babies at the hospital. They're small enough for Jack to eat!"

"Oh my god, Lex, you've been spending way too much time with Raven."

"It's not my fault she's dating my cousin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it was so short. And sorry for the angst. Like I said, I have an idea for the next one, so hopefully that will make up for this one.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Send in any ideas!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place about a month after the last chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is pure happiness!

"Okay, as long as Jack doesn't get in the way, I think everything is moved enough to push Dad around. Or do you think I should move over the couch?" Clarke asked. She was spinning in circles, trying to see any flaw with the current layout of her house.

"Everything looks perfect, Clarke. If you want, we can take Jack to my house. That way No one will get hurt." Lexa offered.

"No, it's okay. Dad hasn't met him yet, and that's half of why he insisted on coming here before going home."

Lexa laughed," Your dad is adorable."

"The other half is because he wants to meet my girlfriend."

Just like that, Lexa sobered up," Meet me? But he should be recovering."

"He said that it didn't matter. He wants to meet you, and figured that he would kill two birds with one stone. I don't mind him coming to meet you. My mom, on the other hand. She's a bit much. I don't really want to deal with her today. She's going to be fussing over Dad so much that she's not going to acknowledge us very much, and she probably won't be in a very good mood."

"Then maybe we should listen to her and have him go home to rest. We can bring Jack to him in a couple weeks!"

Clarke grinned," Are you nervous?"

"What? No! Of course not! I'm just...worried about your dad's well being. He should be resting."

"He's just got a few bruises and a couple broken bones now. You know full well that he's made a fantastic recovery."

"Yeah but..."

"But?"

The doorbell rang. Lexa sighed," Nothing. I'll go find Jack and be in the living room."

Clarke pulled her in for a kiss to the cheek," It's going to be okay, babe. I promise."

Lexa gave her a soft smile and a kiss to the lips," I know. I'm with you. How could it not be okay?"

With one last smile, Clarke went to answer the door.

"Where's my grand-kitty?" Lexa heard a man demand.

"Calm down, Dad. He's cuddling Lexa."

"Perfect!"

"Calm down, Jacob." A strict voice said.

"I'm fine, Abby. Let's go!" 

"Come on. I'll show you the way. I've rearranged so you can get around easier."

"Please. I'm healthy as a horse." He laughed.

Lexa's heart was hammering in her ears. In her arms, Jack started purring and stretched in her arms.

"What are you doing, Mister?" Lexa muttered, stroking his head.

"Marry her."

Lexa's head snapped up and saw a beet red Clarke, a grinning man in a wheelchair, and a horrified woman behind him.

"Dad! We've been dating for like three months. Too soon, don't you think?"

"Nonsense! Three months into our relationship, your mom and I were-"

"Jake!"

He laughed and turned his attention back to Lexa," So you have stolen the heart of my daughter and her son. I like you already."

"I..." Lexa didn't know how to respond to that. She hadn't really thought of Jack as Clarke's son. Just a cat she really really loved to spoil.

"Dad, stop being weird." Clarke said, scooping Jack out of Lexa's arms. She dumped him into her father's lap," Here you go. He's feisty."

"Perfect! Means he's got personality."

"That's exactly what I said!"

"I think this is enough, Jake. We should get you home and in bed." Abby said stiffly.

"Relax, Abby. Sit down and put your feet up. I'm not running a marathon. Just holding a cat."

Abby huffed and plopped down in the chair nearest to the door.

"Mom's a bit anxious." Clarke whispered to Lexa.

"I thought she just hated me." Lexa whispered back.

"Very funny."

Lexa was serious but let her girlfriend believe she wasn't. Instead, she looked over at her girlfriend's father.

"-and it'll have paths going all round the house! The doorways might be a bit tricky, but it's just about simple calculations and maintenance on those hinges. I can put tubes in those paths! Maybe even a few dead ends so we can turn it into a maze. Of course, I would put some treats or some good surprises down there so you won't get bored with those parts. Oh, and I can't forget about toys! I'll have some toys built in! And maybe I can make a little spot that loops outside so you can hang out in the sun. That wouldn't be too hard. Just have to make sure I have enough material so you don't bake out there. You know, you just need to make sure to leave some space between the two layers, make a vacuum between them. But that's where the calculations come in. So that the conservation of heat is taken into consideration. Anyway-"

"Dad, I don't know that he understands what you're talking about." Clarke interrupted.

"Of course he does! He's a smart cat!"

"I don't think he's an engineer, Dad."

"More like...a cheese enthusiast." Lexa said.

"And _that's_ how you know he's smart. He loves cheese."

"Dad, you're just excited because you like cheese too, and for whatever reason, you want to have things in common with my cat." Clarke rolled her eyes.

Jake just muttered and kept happily whispering to Jack. Eventually, Abby decided to socialize, but that only lasted about twenty minutes. She stood up," Thank you for having us, Clarke, but I really should be getting your father home. He needs to rest, and he's starting to get worked up about this crazy idea of turning our house into a cat utopia."

"Fair enough. Thanks for coming by, Mom. It was nice to talk." Clarke got up and hugged her mother.

Abby smiled and squeezed her daughter a little tighter. When she turned to her husband, he started holding Jack protectively.

"This is my new child. You can't take him from me."

"Dad, he's _my_ child. Give him back. You can cuddle him when you're better." Clarke started easing her cat out of his arms.

"No! He can stay with me! He'll enjoy seeing my build his play palace!"

"He'll just injure you both, and I don't think Mom would be too happy with that."

"But-but-"

"How about we send you lots of pictures and videos of him? At least then you'll get live updates on him." Lexa suggested.

Jake nodded vigorously," Okay, but only if you two take a weekend off work to visit us with him. He would like our house, and we would love to have a weekend with the pair of you."

Lexa blushed, and Clarke beamed," We would love to. Now _go_ before Mom pushes you out of your wheelchair and drags you into the car by your ear."

"I've had that happen before. Not fun. Better go. Bye, girls! Bye, Jack-Jack!"

Clarke dropped her head and groaned," Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Mr. Griffin."

"Please. Call me Jake. Or Dad. Either work."

" _Dad_!" Clarke blushed furiously.

Jake just smiled innocently," Clarke?"

"Come on, Jacob. Before you give them aneurysms." Abby started pushing him out the door.

"That's not how it works, and you know it." Jake protested.

"You'll find a way to make it work."

The door swung shut, and Jack immediately started meowing loudly.

"Looks like Jack loves your dad."

"God, I don't think Jack's going to leave my parents' house if we bring him up there."

Just then, Clarke's phone buzzed. She saw a text from her father. _Where is my live update???_

She rolled her eyes and took a quick video of Jack yelling at the front door before dramatically laying down and reaching a paw out toward it.

"My dad is trying to get my mom to kidnap our cat." Clarke said offhandedly.

Lexa's eyes snapped to Clarke," Our cat?"

"I-um...well, he spends enough time at your house, he might as well be both of ours."

A smile grew on Lexa's lips," Yeah. He might as well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Send in any ideas!
> 
> Thank you for reading!! You are all the best!!


	12. Baby Madi!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baby Madi!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for baby Madi! And so it shall be! Not gonna lie, this was a hard one for me to write! Just from lack of focus. And then an injury that led to the worst visit to urgent care ever.

"Jack! Would you stop it?" Clarke shouted out of frustration.

Madi had been crying for the last four hours, and Clarke couldn't get her to stop. Lexa was with Aiden at the park because he had soccer practice, but Madi had been crying when they were trying to leave, so Clarke stayed home with her.

Now Jack kept jumping on the baby and was sticking his face in her ears.

"Jack, last chance before you get thrown outside." Clarke threatened.

Jack glared at her, swished his tail, and attacked the screaming baby again. Madi, already red from screaming, turned a shocking color as she screamed even harder.

"OUT." Clarke lifted her cat and dropped him just outside the front door before returning to the screaming baby.

"Shh, I know, sweetie. I know." She cradled her daughter and swayed her back and forth. Lexa and Aiden came home during this. Aiden cringed and covered his ears before shouting hi and running up to his room. Lexa hurried over.

"Do you think she's hungry?" Lexa asked.

"She won't eat. I don't know what else to do. She won't eat, she's not wet, she won't take a pacifier, and she certainly won't calm down enough to fall asleep. Jack kept attacking her when he was in here, so I put him outside. Ham was just laying on her chest, so I locked her in the other room, and I think she's sleeping."

"Is she warm?"

"I can't tell anymore. At this point, I think she's just warm from crying for so long."

"I'm going to go get a thermometer. Try putting on her favorite show?"

Clarke sighed and nodded.

When Lexa came back, Madi was still crying and screaming. Clarke was on the verge of tears. Lexa quickly took her temperature.

"Clarke, she has a bit of a fever. Maybe we should take her to the doctor."

"The doctor?"

"Or we can just call your mom?"

"Okay, let's go to the doctor. Got get Aiden while I get her in the car seat."

Twenty minutes later, they were being taken into an exam room.

"Hey, Clarke. I'm surprised you're here on your day off." The nurse smiled.

"Hey, Harper. Madi's not having a good day, and I'm too panicked to remember how to doctor right now."

"Uh oh. What's going on with the little one then?"

Lexa and Clarke quickly explained the day of nonstop screaming. Harper nodded and made notes before taking out her supplies to do a routine check.

"Well, she's a little warm. Heart rate's up a bit, but of course, that's going to be from the tantrum. I think I know what's going on. Can you hold her as still as possible?"

Lexa tightened her grip on the screaming baby and struggled to keep her from hitting Harper as the nurse started checking her ears.

"Yep. Poor thing has a bad ear infection. I'm going to get a doctor. They will probably just give her a little bit of antibiotic, and we'll see if that doesn't calm her down a bit. I'll get you a prescription, and you guys can head right on home."

Just as Harper said, the doctor gave the same diagnosis, and the antibiotic helped Madi calm down. She fell asleep as Lexa carried her to the car. Clarke stayed back to fill out the rest of the paperwork, and Harper leaned on the counter next to her," You know about ear infections in kids, right?"

"Yeah. I'll take care of her. How high do you think the chances of her losing hearing are?"

Harper shrugged," Hard to say. Let's just get this infection better and try to keep her from getting any more."

"I will. Thank you, Harper."

"Of course. Anything for a friend. Hey, am I still watching the rugrats on Friday?"

"Maybe. I don't know if I'll want to leave Madi while she's sick."

"I'm a nurse, Clarke. I can watch her. It's not a problem."

"I'll let you know. It's more so my nerves of being away from her while she's sick."

"What a mom." Harper teased, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! I've always been the mom of the group, and you know it!"

"With the exception of Party Girl Griffin."

"We don't speak of Party Girl Griffin."

"Party Girl who now?" Lexa appeared at Clarke's elbow.

"Nothing!" Clarke said a little too fast.

"Now I need to know. Harper?"

"Why don't you put those precious kids to bed and give your wife a bottle of whiskey. She can show you herself." She winked and walked away.

"Don't do that, Lex."

"You bet your sweet ass I'm doing it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this wasn't super happy! Also, sorry to @L for this chapter not panning out the way you probably hoped it would. I'll make it up in the next chapter. I do, in fact, have inspiration for that chapter based on this one.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Send in any scenarios/characters you want to see!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


	13. Sassy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madi is older now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short and pretty much only dialogue.

"Ow! What the hell?" Madi grumbled. She picked up the pen and threw it back at her brother.

"Leave him alone. He's old and trying to sleep." Aiden signed.

"How is he still alive? Isn't he like thirty?"

"Twenty five."

"He should have died by now."

Lexa walked in the room," How's homework going?" She asked and signed.

Madi stalked back over to the dining room table and plopped down in her seat," I was just failing at math."

"She was being mean to Jack because he's old." Aiden said, scribbling down numbers for his calculus homework.

"Be nice to him! He's older than you." Lexa told her daughter.

"So is Aiden, but I'm not nice to him." Madi signed, rolling her eyes.

"You should be."

"He's a nerd!"

"So are you!"

"I resent that."

"Resent it all you want, Trekkie. I know a nerd when I see one."

"That's because you are one too, Mom."

Clarke walked in the room at some point during this conversation. She tapped Madi on the top of her head.

"Excuse me, young lady. I'm the only one allowed to call her a nerd. Aren't you supposed to be doing homework? Not making fun of your family?"

"What's the fun in that?"

Clarke rolled her eyes," How about you finish your homework and behave and I'll let you go out with that Jordan Blaine person you wanted to see on Friday."

Madi sat up straight," Really?"

"Yes, but you need to behave. Be nice to Mom, Aiden, _and_ Jack. He's only old and sleepy."

"He's old and mean."

"He loves you."

"Barely. He loves Aiden more."

"That's because Aiden doesn't pick on him."

Madi sighed," But if I leave everyone alone tonight and get my homework done, I can go out on Friday?"

"Within reason, yes."

"Deal."

"Good. Can you do us a favor when you're done with your homework?"

"Nope." Madi reached up, turned off her hearing aids, and focused on her homework.

Lexa sighed," So much for asking her to take these Halsey tickets to make Octavia and Raven jealous."

Aiden burst out laughing," You didn't."

"We won the bet, and they're being sore losers."

Madi glanced up and signed _what are you talking about?_

Aiden grinned, _Didn't you want those Halsey tickets Moms won?_

She turned her hearing aids back on," You're joking."

"You didn't want them. Looks like we're going then." Clarke sighed, fanning herself with the tickets.

"I never said no!"

"I asked you to do me a favor, and you said no. I just wanted you to make Raven and Octavia jealous but if you don't want to-"

"HELL YES I WANT TO."

"Language, Madison." Lexa sat sternly.

"Sorry, Mom. But please? I'll even send them constant snapchats."

"If you insist-"

Madi jumped out of her seat and hugged both of her moms," Thank you thank you thank you thank you! This is going to be so great! You're the best moms in the world!"

Behind her, Jack slowly going to his feet, jumped onto Madi's chair, then the table, and laid on her homework. When she calmed down enough to return to her geometry, she groaned and stood up," Jack! Go away!"

"He's only old!" Clarke protested.

"And this stuff is impossible and due tomorrow!" Madi whined.

Jack stretched and yawned before gingerly placing his head on his paws. Lexa laughed and softly picked him up," Come on, sweet boy. Let's go take a nap together."

As she left the room, Clarke rolled her eyes," What a nerd."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it! Let me know what you think! Give me scenarios you want to see!
> 
> Have a wonderful day!


	14. Jake's House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for Jake-Lexa-Jack interactions!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a requested prompt, and it was SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE. I also have the next one planned out, so maybe a double update?

"-and I had to have him restrained because he kept telling me that his fingers were bananas and that he needed the potassium." Clarke finished.

Abby chuckled and took a sip of her tea. Lexa still thought it was hilarious, even after hearing it three times already.

"I've never had someone take to the anesthesia that much. I've had a fair amount of proposals, some perverts, some just sleep right away. Nothing too interesting though. Oh! Except for this one time when I was an intern back during med school." Abby said.

"Tell!" Clarke said eagerly. She loved hearing her mom's work stories. They were never outrageous, but lately she's been able to relate to them much more.

"I was on my last month of med school. It had to be four in the morning. Two men and a woman walked in and told the receptionist that they needed medical attention but wouldn't say why. I happened to be walking by while they were arguing about paperwork and told the receptionist that I would get them to fill everything out and help them with what they needed. So I took them to an exam room and sat them down and started reading off questions, filling out the paperwork, and asking them what the problems were. And this took nearly two hours, mind you. They were beating around the bush for almost ten minutes before they finally told me. Apparently, they had a three way and forgot to use protection. So the girl was trying to get the morning after pill, and the guys were demanding vasectomies."

Clarke, who had been sipping at her tea, coughed and held her napkin to her nose to keep tea from coming out," I'm sorry. Did you say morning after pill and vasectomies?"

"Yes."

"Are four in the morning."

"Yes."

"That's...that's not how it works!" Clarke was starting to piece together the story and was slowing losing herself to giggles. Lexa had been fighting laughter the entire time. She was red and shaking from the story.

"What did you tell them, Mom?"

"To go to Walgreens and their usual doctors. That wasn't something I could do. Nor did I want to do it."

"I don't blame you."

Just then, two different ringtones started blasting from purses. Both Clarke and Abby sighed," Work."

They looked at each other in shock.

"Must be serious if we're both getting called in." Abby said.

Clarke nodded and answered her phone. Abby quickly followed suit. Within five minutes, Clarke had kissed her girlfriend goodbye while Abby had sternly told her husband to behave while she was gone.

Lexa wandered over to where Jake was spending his time after the Griffin women left. He had been building his cat utopia, just as he promised. And of course, Jack was sitting on the table next to him, staring at his hands and swishing his tail. Jake explained everything he was doing as he was doing it.

"Hm. Looks like I'm a bit stuck at this part, Jacky. What do you think? Carpet or cardboard ripples?"

"Carpet. He loves pulling on threads of carpet." Lexa said.

Jake looked around and broke into a grin," Perfect! What do you think of the general layout so far?"

Lexa stepped closer as Jake stepped to a side and showed her his plans.

"I think Jack is very spoiled."

"Only the best for my grandkitty."

"I do have a question. How do you plan on regulating temperature in the outdoor loop?"

"Well, like I said before, the vacuum between the layers will help keep him from baking or freezing. It should maintain the temperature of the rest of the house if it isn't too large. I'm going to test it a few times before I let him go in there, but I have a few ideas on how to regulate the temperature if it still has a high variance."

Jake and Lexa spent the next three hours talking over every detail of Jake's cat utopia, making adjustments as they went. Jack went from watching to playing with pencils to napping to watching again. None of them even realized the amount of time that passed until Clarke and Abby arrived home.

"Wha- what are you doing to my kitchen?" Abby cried.

"We decided to get a jump on things! This isn't going to build itself, Lexa here is very helpful, and this is the best idea I've had in years!" Jake grinned from the top of a step ladder.

"Is she now?" Abby turned her gaze on Lexa.

"We just- it's just a bit marking. Small. You won't even notice if you aren't looking at it." Lexa started blushing and petting Jack.

"He's marking massive lines of sharpie on my walls."

"Calm down, Abby. You won't even see them once the boards go up."

"You're going to let this massive cat jump on my head when I'm cooking, and then you are going to regret every second you spent on this cat path thing."

"It is more than just a cat path! It is pure entertainment for our grandkitty!"

Abby sighed and looked to her daughter for help, only to find her grabbing a tape measure," Clarke? What are you doing?"

She just shrugged," He needs some exercise."

"This is insane! _Hey_!"

Abby looked down and saw Jack holding onto her leg for dear life, his teeth lightly gnawing at her shoe.

"What did I do to you?"

"He really wants his play path, dear. Better let us build it." Jake teased.

Jack bit her a little harder and started purring.

"Fine." She grumbled.

"Mom, I think he likes you." Clarke grinned.

Jack closed his eyes, still purring and still biting her foot.

Abby just sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Like I said, I have the next chapter planned out. Still let me know if you have anything you want to see written out!
> 
> Let me know what you think! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a fantastic day!


	15. Heart Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JACK HAS A CRUSH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked to see Jack crushing on a neighbor cat!

"Jack's been wanting to go outside a lot more often lately." Clarke mentioned.

"I noticed that. Maybe he just wants to explore more?" Lexa said.

"Maybe. I'm thinking of tracking him again."

"That might be a good idea."

They both looked down to see Jack trot past them and sit down in front of the door. He didn't make a noise, but he stared at them until Lexa sighed and got up to let him outside. By the time she returned to the couch, Clarke was already tracking him.

"He's...why does he always go to the neighbor's house?"

"What?" Lexa looked over her shoulder at Clarke's phone. The dot was just outside the neighbor's house and not moving.

"But he's not inside. He's just sitting...he's right there! Lexa, look!" Clarke pointed outside the window facing their neighbor.

Lexa hurried over to the window and saw Jack sitting on the ground, staring up at the other house.

"What is he doing?" Lexa breathed.

Jack kept staring at the window, his tail slowly swishing back and forth.

"Is he...waiting?" Clarke looked at her girlfriend.

"Maybe. That's what he looks like when he waits for food."

They both frowned and decided to let him stare at the house.

The next day, it was raining. Clarke didn't like it when Jack went outside in the rain. The temperature had a tendency to drop a lot when it was raining, so Clarke made a day out of it. She always put on her thick socks and oversized sweater, made hot cocoa, and started binge watching Brooklyn 99. And usually, Jack curled up with her on the couch and cuddled against her.

But today, Jack was sitting in front of the window and just staring outside.

"What are you doing, Jack? Why are you acting weird?"

Jack just seemed to focus harder on the other house.

Clarke huffed and sunk down into the couch. She tried to focus on her feel good show, but Jack staring out the window was unnerving her.

"Jack! Stop it! Why are you staring...next...door? Is that another cat?" Clarke trailed off and stared out the window. They were a black cat in the window next door, and Jack didn't seem to be taking his eyes off of it. Clarke fumbled for her phone and called Lexa.

"Are you okay? What's going on? Do I need to come home?" Lexa answered in a rush.

"He has a crush!"

"Who?"

"Jack!"

"Who did he crush?"

"Not funny. The neighbor's have a cat, and Jack has a crush on her!"

Lexa laughed," That's adorable!"

"Isn't it though?"

"Should we tell them?"

"I think I might. When it stops raining. Maybe see if they want to have a little playdate."

"I think that's a good idea."

"Thanks. I'll let you get back to work. I just got excited and needed to tell you."

"That's okay, babe. I like the distraction. This case is boring anyway."

"Come home soon!"

"Promise!"

When they hung up, Clarke picked up Jack and made him cuddle with her. He struggled to get back over to the window for a few minutes, but he settled down when he realized that Clarke wasn't budging. They ended up napping together, only waking when Lexa made her way home. By then, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining again.

The sun was shining for the next week. When it started raining again, just that next week, Clarke and Lexa laughed as Jack perched at the window again.

"Well, it's oddly nice to know that this is a fully LGBT household." Lexa joked.

"I can't believe Jack has a crush on Petey." Clarke shook her head and watched the other cat appear in the window.

"You have to admit. They're a very cute couple. And there's no way they could have kittens."

"That is very comforting." Clarke nodded.

There was a pause.

"Hey, Clarke?" Lexa said softly.

"Yes?"

"What do you think about having a family?"

"You mean us having a family?"

"Yeah."

"I think I would want to get married first, but that's something I would love, yes. Why? What do you think?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Yeah?"

Lexa nodded and fished something out of her pocket," I was thinking it would be nice to spend the rest of my life with you. Because you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I don't want to let you go."

"Lex..."

"Marry me?"

"Yes. _God_ yes." Clarke straddled her girlfriend- _fiance_ \- and crashed their lips together. When she pulled back, Lexa slipped the ring on her finger and leaned her forehead against Clarke's.

And Jack attacked their hands.

"Looks like he's mad that you stole him coming out for your proposal." Clarke mused.

"Sorry, Jack. I should have asked if it was okay."

Jack curled up between them, purring.

"I'm going to buy him a kitty rainbow cake."

"Do they make those?"

"They will soon if they don't already."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! And if you want to see anything done!
> 
> Have a fantastic week!


	16. George

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and his antics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry it has been so long! My boss has amped up the jackass attitude and is giving me anxiety! Also, I get virtually no sleep, so that doesn't help. Those are the main reasons why I haven't updated until now.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! It's a little shorter than usual. I had this written out a few days ago, and I haven't edited it at all. Hopefully it doesn't suck. I'm just trying to get something up for you guys.

"Dad, why did you call us here?" Clarke sighed, leaning back in the dining room chair. Her father had been stalling about the reason for the past hour, and she was getting tired.

Jake straightened his back and cleared his throat," As you all know, I have been working on a project that allows Jack, our resident tabby cat, to wander the house above our heads while also providing-"

"Jacob." Abby sighed.

He grumbled," I had to put the Jack Project on hold."

"And you couldn't call to tell us that?"

"I needed to show you why."

"Is there a problem, Dad? We didn't even tell you to build it. You insisted so that you could have an excuse to cuddle my cat." Clarke asked.

"No problem. I just...well, I went to the local shelter to see if they had any tips for what cats liked to play with. What kind of environment they preferred and such things. I was talking to this nice woman for maybe twenty minutes when someone walked in with this old beagle. They had just gone for a walk and were in their way back to his kennel."

"Dad, no." Clarke groaned.

"Dad, yes!"

"Jake!" Abby warned.

"His name is George. He's in the backyard, deciding where he would like me to build his dog-mansion."

"Dog-mansion?" Clarke muttered.

"It's like a big doghouse." Lexa responded.

"I know what it is! The question is, why do you feel the need to build something for every pet that happens to come into your life? You're going to seriously injure yourself. Or _re_ -injure yourself. Or wear yourself down. You did this for my goldfish when I was nine. You bought a bunch of fish castles and broke them apart before you put them all together to make a massive, weird castle."

"He loved it."

" _She_ couldn't even get into it because it didn't fit in her tank!"

"She might be right, Jake." Abby nodded.

"Nonsense. The cat utopia is almost done, and George's mansion is almost necessary." Jake said calmly.

"Why? Why is it necessary?" Clarke crossed her arms.

A tip tap sound slowly made it's way into the kitchen. An old, chubby beagle waddled into the room.

"Because he can't walk up stairs." Jake said, gesturing at the dog.

Clarke just stared at the beagle while Lexa got up and hurried over to George.

"He's so sweet, Clarke!" She said as he rolled onto his back for belly rubs.

"Oh, let me show you the magic spot." Jake walked over and lightly scratched right next to George's back leg, which started twitching slowly until it was fully kicking.

Jack, who now made regular visits to the Griffin household, strolled over and sniffed the dog's nose. George just let his tongue lull out, not seeming to care that a cat was in his new house. And since there was no reaction to him, Jack decided he was going to lay down on George's head. Lexa laughed because all she could see of the head was a small black nose and the tip of his tongue.

"I think George was a fantastic idea." Lexa said.

"Me too!" Jake smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again that it's so short.
> 
> I will try to get the next update soon, but like I said. Jackass boss. Anxiety. No sleep. If you have any prompts, that'll probably help me get an update faster (if I'm able to get on my computer).
> 
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Have a fantastic week!


	17. Prison Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's anxiety in this one. Not too bad. Nothing should be triggering. But if you don't want to take the risk, skip it. Make sure you're taking care of yourself <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life has been rough this week. Like the worst week of my life to date. Thankfully, I have a great support system. Anyway, I'm only getting this up today because it's my dog's birthday, and that gave me some motivation to get things on my computer done.

Lexa was panicking.

She was home alone, and she was panicking.

Clarke was pulling the night shift at the hospital and had left at three the previous afternoon. And when she left, she had let Jack out so he could explore a bit. Usually, Jack was back in an hour, so Lexa went to the front door and checked to see if her was back. He wasn't there, so she checked the back door. He was there either, and she decided that he probably just took an extra long walk today.

_He probably just wanted to explore a bit more. It's not that big of a deal. He's done it before._

Lexa sat down with Wheel of Fortune playing in front of her. She was focusing on a case she had brought home, so that was just background noise for her. But of course, this was the easiest case she had had in the past six months. There was nothing to focus on because she'd already worked out everything she needed for the courts and then some. In her efforts to push a little harder and find a little more, she fell asleep.

It was one in the morning when she woke up again. She laid on the couch, staring at the ceiling for almost ten minutes trying to remember her dream.

_Something about a giant marshmallow leading group therapy for a bunch of ketchup addicts. Maybe I need to stop snacking while I work. I always have weird dreams after._

Lexa sat up and stretched her back. After several satisfying pops, she gathered her papers and put them back in her briefcase. She smiled fondly, remembering the Clarke had gotten her that briefcase for her birthday last year. Her old one had been falling apart because it was from the beginning of high school, when she insisted on carrying her massive, bulky laptop everywhere. There hadn't been WiFi back then, but she had bought that with all of her allowance money and didn't want to risk anyone stealing it when she wasn't home. She didn't live in the best of neighborhoods, after all. There was a robbery every other week.

She sat her briefcase by the front door where she usually kept it and frowned. The door was unlocked. Why was the door-

_Jack._

Instantly, panic flooded her body again. She flung the front door open and ran outside, looking around. She didn't see a single speck of what could be her orange cat.

Her panic quickly turned into anxiety. _Oh my god, Clarke's going to kill me. I lost her cat. No, she's not going to kill me. She's going to dump me. I don't know if I can handle that. God, and Jack must be terrified. I need to find him. Now. I need to find him before Clarke finds out. Maybe I should tell her now so she doesn't get angry if he's not here when she gets home. Maybe I should tell her now so that she doesn't find out he was lost and never trusts me again. Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick._

Lexa printed inside and threw up a couple times in the toilet. After about ten minutes of rest, she locked the front door and went back outside to search for Jack. She spent an hour searching for him high and low. She went through every bush and tree on their property, and there was still no sight the her orange tabby. So she started wandering down the street, trying so peak into every garden for any hint of orange fur.

She spent another hour just wandering and looking, still no sign of Jack. Eventually, she sighed and returned home. She didn't have a choice. She would have to call Clarke. When Lexa sat down and grabbed out her phone, she saw it light up with a text.

From Clarke?

_Look who I found curled up in the back seat!_

Lexa stared down at the attached image, tears forming in her eyes. _Oh thank god._

Before she could respond, Clarke typed out a second message that said _I know you're freaking out trying to find him. That's why I sent you a message. I went out to the car because I forgot my phone charger. He's lucky that it's warm out and I left the windows cracked._

Lexa laughed and rolled her eyes, typing out, _Jack!! I've been searching for him all night! Tell him he's rude and that I demand make up cuddles._

_Oh, I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige. Anyway, I gotta get back to work. Get some sleep, babe. I'll see you in a few hours. I love you <3 _

_I love you too_

Lexa tossed her phone on the side table and leaned back into the couch. Her entire body relaxed, and she allowed herself to close her eyes. Anxiety really did take all energy out of her.

It felt like it had only been a few minutes when she woke up to something heavy and purring on her chest. Whiskers started tickling her nose. She giggled sleepily and wound her arms loosely around Jack.

"You're a jackass, but I love you." She murmured.

"Well, good morning to you too." Clarke joked.

Lexa reached a blind hand out for her girlfriend, who happily gripped hers. Clarke stepped closer, and Lexa pulled her down for a soft kiss.

"Good morning." Lexa whispered, finally opening her eyes.

"You're adorable." Clarke caressed Lexa's cheek.

"Only for you."

"That's not true, and you know."

"Okay fine. For Jack too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Send in any ideas!
> 
> Thank you for reading and for all the support! You are all amazing!!!


	18. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's not good at helping for date night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short hiatus over! For now! I'm sorry I disappeared for a bit there. Part of it was because I couldn't think of something to write. I'm going through a bit of writer's block.
> 
> Anyway, I just decided to go through a general timeline of what happened so far and thought I'd go back to the start of our staring couple's realationship.
> 
> Jack is just the most helpful cat in the world, and no one can convince me otherwise.

Clarke had emptied half of her closet onto her bedroom floor and was currently buried until a pile of shoes, trying to find her phone. It was ringing, and the sound had scared her. She ended up screaming and throwing it. Then she remembered that it was _supposed_ to do that and had dove into the pile it had landed in.

"Where is it? Dammit!" Clarke throw an old boot at the wall in frustration. She spun in a circle and realized that her phone had fallen out of the boot she had just thrown.

"Hello?!" She hurried to answer it.

"Damn, Griff. Who killed your cat?"

"No one that I'm aware of. If you're volunteering, I'll kill you first."

"You'll have to find me first."

"What do you want, Reyes?"

"I heard from baby Blake that you're going on a date with your hottie neighbor. And I would like to know what was going on in your mind that had you so preoccupied that you didn't even think to tell me. Or did you think of it and decide that I wasn't worthy of knowing? Dammit, Griff, I need answers."

"Jesus, Raven, breathe. I just forgot. I'm in a bit of a situation right now, so can I call you later? Like tomorrow? And we can get coffee with Octavia and talk about how the date went. I only found out about it today."

"Where is she taking you? What are you wearing?"

"You're a creep. I'm hanging up. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Be home by eleven!"

"Eleven AM, got it."

Clarke hung up and sighed, staring at the mess ahead of her. She started sifting through her clothes and narrowed it down to three groups.

Cute. Classy. Slutty.

She went through the outfits and slowly started eliminating options. Halfway through her first pile, Jack wandered in.

"What do you think, Jack? Keep this in the running?" Clarke held up a soft yellow dress with flowers.

He blinked at her and jumped on the slutty pile.

"Jack!"

He plopped down on the heap of clothes and closed his eyes.

"Jack, I need those!"

He didn't move. Instead, he stretched and turned on his back, getting his fur all over her most expensive black dress.

"I guess I don't." She grumbled and tossed the yellow dress into the discard pile.

It took nearly an hour for her to decide on a dark blue dress with a loose skirt that ended just above her knees. Clarke quickly jumped in the shower and got ready for her date. She was ready in a record time of forty two minutes- not including the time it took to pick an outfit. Jack woke up as she was walking down the stairs. he raced down with her and waited next to the front door expectantly. She rolled her eyes and opened the door to let him out.

"Oh...hi?" Lexa said hesitantly.

"Lexa! Hi! I was just...letting Jack out. He decided that he wanted to explore again today."

"Oh! Right!"

"I wasn't just being awkward and waiting for you at the door. That would be creepy. I'm not creepy. At least, I don't think so. Raven might say yes, but that's because she's Raven is she's a massive jerk who likes humiliating people for no good reason."

"Clarke?"

"Yes?"

"Are you nervous?"

"What? No! Pssh no of course not why do you- I'm rambling."

"A bit..."

"A lot. Sorry. You can tell me to stop talking when that happens. Obviously you noticed that I talk a lot when I'm nervous."

"Clarke."

"Sorry."

Lexa laughed," I think it's adorable."

"Yeah?"

"I think _you're_ adorable. Well, right now you look- wow. I can't- I'm- you're beautiful."

Clarke giggled and kissed her cheek," You're beautiful too."

Lexa blushed and smiled, holding out her elbow," Ready for a good night?"

"It'll be better than good. It'll be with you."

*****

Lexa had taken them to an expensive restaurant that Clarke had protested about. Then she took them to a bar nearby, and they resulted in lots of drinking, dancing, and not so innocent flirting. In fact, they were outside in less than an hour, making out while they waited for their Lyft to show up.

Clarke couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or Lexa herself that was making her _need_ to get home so bad. She just wanted to go home and feel Lexa against her as soon as possible, and she didn't care about anything else.

Except that when they got to Lexa's house and stumbled up to her room, they found a problem. Lexa had unzipped Clarke's dress and pushed her down on the bed. Clarke ended up landing on-

" _Jack_?!" They both gasped.

"How did he get in here?" Clarke asked, looking at Lexa," I know I'm drunk, but I definitely remember letting him outside and leaving for the night. We didn't go to your house."

"No, we didn't. But...I think I left the kitchen window open. I was baking cookies earlier and set them in the window to cool."

Clarke looked at her and bit her lip," Like an old lady?"

"...no..."

"You're so fucking adorable."

"I'm going to go check on my cookies."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Send over any ideas. I'm sure I'll need them.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	19. Laughing Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madi thinks Jack is hilarious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have ideas! I'm trying to keep them all straight (though that is impossible for a gay) in my head but we'll see how I do.
> 
> Also, I'm moving the great distance down the hall in my apartment building in the next couple weeks, so I'm not going to be able to update when that happens, though I'll let you know closer to when that time comes. Hopefully I can get up a thing or two before then.

"Lexa. What is your cat doing?"

"He's your cat, Clarke. Or are you talking about Ham? She's still your cat."

"Just come here and tell me what Jack is doing."

Lexa stood up from where she was sitting in the dining room and walked into the living room. Clarke was frowning at the floor in front of her, and that's when Lexa started laughing. In front of Clarke was Jack and Madi. Madi, being nine months, was sitting in the middle of the floor. But instead of her usual trouble making babble, she was laughing hysterically.

Jack was in front of her, looking around in confusion. Every five or so seconds, he would turn to Madi and so very softly place his front paw on her nose.

And Madi would dissolve into hysterics all over again.

Lexa had heard the giggling baby from the other room, but she had just assumed that it was Clarke making faces at her. Usually, Jack stayed away from Madi unless something was wrong. _I suppose_ , Lexa thought, _that he thinks her laughing is something wrong. She doesn't laugh much unless she sees Murphy get punched._

"How did this even start?" Lexa giggled.

"Well, I was making faces at her-"

"Naturally."

"Shut it. So I was making faces, and she started giggling a little. I guess that woke Jack up, and he didn't like it. He just walked over and put his paw on her nose, like he's doing now, and she just started laughing. Then he would get more annoyed but wouldn't move away, and now they just aren't stopping."

"Only Jack."

"Only _Madi_."

"Quite the pair."

"They really are."

"Where's Aiden?"

"He went upstairs to find his coloring book. And I think he dragged Ham with him."

"That poor cat."

A thundering sound came from the staircase, and Aiden sprinted into the living room, Ham on his heels.

"Aiden Joseph Woods, no running in the house." Lexa said sternly.

"Sorry, Mama. I just had to show you! Look at what I did at Auntie Rae's house!" He pointed at Ham.

"The cat?" Lexa frowned.

"No, Mama, look!" He picked at her collar.

Lexa knelt down and looked closer at the collar. Attached was a small, roughly painted square with holes punched in the top.

"Aiden, what is this?" She said hesitantly.

"I made it pretty!"

"I see that sweetie, but what is it?"

"It's a lighter!"

" _What?_ " Clarke and Lexa chorused.

"Look!"

He poked a button on the side and turned off the lights in the living room. He pointed at the ceiling, and his parents sighed in relief. There was a faint set of constellations on the dancing across the ceiling.

"I'm going to kill Raven." Clarke grumbled.

"Mommy?" Aiden said softly.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"What is Jack doing?"

"I don't know, but it's making Madi happy."

"Okay."

The three of the watched as Ham strolled up to Jack and Madi to get a closer look at the pair. Jack looked at her in annoyance and batted her on the head.

Ham ran back upstairs. Aiden ran after her to turn off his 'lighter'. And Madi fell over, laughing harder than ever before.

"Lexa, you're family is weird."

"It's your family too, Clarke."

"I think I'm going to retire early, thanks."

"That's not how it works."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think or if you have anything you want to see!
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Have a fantastic week!


	20. Kidnapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake is bad at priorities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so late! Moving took a lot more than I was originally expecting, and then there was this whole thing with jobs. Long story short, I've been CRAZY busy, and I'm happy I finally got to write.
> 
> I'm exhausted, so this probably isn't the best quality. I'll try to make it up soon. That being said, I do hope you enjoy!

Clarke was tired.

She had just spent 36 hours in labor and another 5 in the delivery room. Not to mention the three hours it took to get her new daughter to stop screaming her lungs out. Everyone had thought there was something wrong with poor baby Madi, but after doing as many tests as possible, they realized that she was just uncomfortable. Lexa had bounced her a bit and hummed a soft song, and baby Madi was out like a light. They had all hurried to get the discharge forms filled out while she was still sleeping.

Now, Lexa was pulling into her parents' driveway and getting Madi out of the car.

"Baby, it's time to go inside." Lexa said softly.

Clarke whined, her eyes still closed.

"I know, baby, but we have a child and cat to pick up."

Clarke whined again but cracked her eyes open and started to climb out of the car. They slowly made their way upstairs and rang the doorbell.

"Clarke! Lexa!" Abby flung the door open with a smile and let out a soft gasp," Oh, she's so precious!"

Lexa and Clarke smiled, and Lexa lifted the carrier so that Abby could see her new granddaughter better.

"You can hold her, Mom." Clarke said.

Abby carefully lifted the newborn from her carrier and started talking softly to her. After a moment or two, Abby looked at Clarke," You should probably go talk to your father. He's trying to kidnap your son. And your cat."

"What?" Lexa frowned.

"Go talk to him about it. I have been telling him no since you dropped them off."

Both frowning in confusion, Clarke and Lexa walked into the living room and found Jake frowning with Aiden under one arm and Jack under the other.

"Dad." Clarke sighed.

"No."

"Dad, come on. I'm tired. I just want to go home and sleep for three years."

"No."

"I'll fight you."

"Okay, go sit down." Lexa said, easing her toward the couch.

Clarke grumbled but sat down anyway. Lexa turned back to Jake, who very slightly tightened his grip.

"Jake, I'm sorry, but I'm going to need my son and my cat back. We need to get home so that Clarke can rest." Lexa said firmly.

"They're mine now. I love them. I have decided that these are my children." Jake said stubbornly.

"They can be your grandchildren. But we can't go home without them. Please, Jake. It's been a long two days."

Jake humphed but did not budge.

"Jacob, let them go right now or else you aren't allowed to hold your new granddaughter." Abby said, walking in the room with a still sleeping Madi.

Jake eyes the pair and glanced down at the squirming cat and giggling toddler. He deliberated for a few moments before releasing Aiden.

"Mommy! Mama! I made a drawing!" He squealed, running over to a pile of papers and crayons.

"Bring it over here so we can see, sweetie." Clarke smiled.

Aiden hobbled over as fast as he could, holding up a paper with a lot of scribbles. Clarke and Lexa looked at it and saw loose outlines of four people.

"Can you tell us about it, bud?" Lexa asked, squatting down to his height. Aiden happily jabbed his finger at each person.

"This is Mommy. This is Mama. This one is me. And this one is the new baby!"

Lexa kissed him on the top of the head," It's perfect, buddy! We'll put it on the fridge as soon as we get home, okay?"

"Yay!" Aiden jumped up and down.

Clarke laughed," Come here, sweetie. Come sit with me so you can meet your sister."

Aiden climbed onto the couch and sat in his mother's lap. Abby walked over, shooting a look at Jake. She sat down carefully so Aiden could get a good look at his new sister.

"This is Madi." Clarke said softly.

"She's so small!"

"She is. And she's going to need a big brother to help her learn about this."

"I can help!"

"Good. You are exactly what she needs." Clarke tickled him a little and kissed his cheek. Aiden giggled and nuzzled into her neck.

"Jacob, I can't believe you would rather steal that cat than hold your own granddaughter." Abby scowled.

Jake's frown deepened and looked between the baby and the cat. Jack looked up at him and just stared. After almost a full minute of staring into Jack's eyes, Jake slowly set Jack on the ground before childishly sticking his arms out in front of him with a pout on his face.

Clarke sighed," Why are you acting like a four year old who got his candy stolen?"

"I love Jack."

"You can still love him. Setting him down and holding Madi doesn't make you love him less."

"Yes, but my problem is that I just love so many people that I don't know what I'm going to do when I love her too."

Abby rolled her eyes," Jake-"

"Seriously, I've got you, Clarke, Lexa, Jack, Aiden, used to have George, Bingo-"

"Who's Bingo?" Lexa interjected.

"My dog!" Jake puffed up.

"You got _another_ dog?" Clarke frowned.

"I'm a senior dog foster home." Jake proudly announced.

"And when did you get Bingo?"

Abby sighed," Yesterday. I told him not to, but he insisted that it needed to happen. Your father is now insisting on taking down that dog mansion he built and making a new one for Bingo."

Clarke and Lexa both started protesting. Jake shook his head," I'm not going to hear any of it. The decision has been made. Now, do I get to hold this sweet baby girl or am I just going to stand here looking handsomely stupid?"

Abby opened her mouth, eyebrows raised. She paused and bit her lip before standing up and handing their granddaughter over to Jake.

"Yeah, I'm doomed. Abby, we need to figure out who owns the land next to us. I need to build her a house." Jake said immediately.

"Jacob, no."

"Dad, what about Aiden?" Clarke asked.

"He can have the land on the other side. I'll build him one too."

"At least he's fair." Lexa shrugged as Jack leaped into her arms.

"Don't encourage him, Lexa. We still need to get Madi back. I'm exhausted."

Lexa nodded," I'll go put these two in the car, then we can steal her back."

She was gone for two minutes. It took her and Clarke nearly ten minutes to convince Jake to give back their daughter. _That_ ended in Abby telling Jake that he was grounded and dragging him upstairs by the ear. Clarke and Lexa walked out to the car to go home. Clarke opened the back door, ready to put Madi away, when she noticed where Jack was.

"Lexa, move your cat."

"What?" Lexa popped her head over Clarke's shoulder and started giggling," I think he likes it."

Jack was sprawled out on his back, almost completely covering the blanket they had laid out for Madi's carseat. Clarke tried to reprimand him, but he just lazily opened one eye to stare at them before yawning and returning to his nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Let me know what you think and if you have any story ideas!
> 
> Have a great day!


	21. And Now We're Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's origin story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hello! I have returned from hibernation!
> 
> Sorry I've been gone for so long. Life got in the way, then when it slowed down, I never got back on the right computer that had the draft of this story.
> 
> But here I am! I'll try to update more regularly now that life has slowed down a bit.
> 
> I am very happy that I got feedback on the last chapter, and I'm thinking about rewriting it. If anyone has any ideas for what they'd like to see changed, let me know.
> 
> Until then, enjoy Jack's origin story! From when he was a kitten to when he went home with Clarke.

*10 weeks old*

_Why am I always on the bottom?_

I tried to wiggle out from under my brothers and sister, but they were just so _heavy_. Mom walked over and pulled me out. I turned around and smacked them all as much as I could before they tackled me again.

Lucky for me, the small human came in and picked up two of my brothers. Her mom came in and said something to her. I don't know what. I don't speak human. But the small human put down my brothers and backed away from us. The mom walked over with- _a box?!_

We all ran over to the box, and she started to put us inside it. I was the last one to go in, and that really made me happy since my biggest brother finally knew what it felt like to be squished by someone else. Too bad he rolled over and started biting my ear. I started to run away, but we both fell over when the human picked up the box and started carrying us out of our room.

Wait, she never carried us around in a box. Where were we going? And where's Mom?

When the human set down the box, we all jumped at the sides. They were trying to get out, but I just wanted to see where we were. It was really bright, and the ceiling was different. What was that sound? Where was it coming from?

My brother tackled me again before I could figure it out.

 

*6 months old*

My food bowl is empty.

I growled and walked over to the human man who picked me out of that box all that time ago. He was sitting at the table, eating. He's eating. Why am _I_ not eating?

I batted his leg and told him to feed me, but he didn't even look at me. So I did it a few more times until he pushed me away with his foot.

_Rude._

Suddenly, I heard the small human girl running downstairs.

_Damn it, I need to get out of here. I hate her._

She found me in the room with my big chair. She screeched and started rubbing her hand all over my back. I tried to be patient. I really did. But she touched my belly, and that's just something I can't handle. Before I knew it, she was crying, and I had blood on my paw. The big human came in and grabbed me by the back of my neck like Mom used to.

 

*1 year old*

The only reason I like being with this old human is because she keeps my bowl full. I can eat all I want.

I guess she leaves me alone a lot too. So I can eat, then sleep, then eat again. And she won't even try to rub her hands all over me. I mean, she does, but that's only every once in a while when I'm eating. She hasn't tried to take my food away either, so I guess she's okay to live with.

The biggest reason why I hate it here is because it smells awful. Maybe it's just her. Or maybe it's because whenever she makes her own food, it's really smelly. I don't know if she makes old food since she's an old human or if it's just bad already. No, it can't be bad already. She gives me her food sometimes, and it's pretty tasty. For human food. Mine is still better. Maybe she's only really good at making cat food. That's all that's important anyway.

I yawned and wandered over to my bowl.

_Why is it empty?_

I ran into her room. It's not her scheduled nap time, but she was definitely in bed right now. I hopped onto her bed and sat on her legs. When she didn't move, I tried to tell her to wake up. That still didn't work, so I walked a little further up and patted her head. She still didn't move.

Something was wrong.

I listened for a few seconds, thinking maybe I could come up with a solution.

There's no heartbeat.

Oh.

Oh no.

*3 years old*

These humans really weren't that bad. They left me alone and kept my bowl full. They were like the old lady that died, but these ones were a lot younger. And there were two of them. This home kind of reminded me of the humans I lived with when I was a kitten, but these ones don't have a small human with them.

I sat on my long chair, watching at the humans brought even _more_ humans in the house. And all of those new humans were carrying boxes and taking things out of the house.

One of my humans came over and picked me up while the new ones- _why are they taking the big chair?_

I hissed and batted at my human until she put me down. I stalked towards the door. Both of my humans were too busy talking to each other to care about what I was doing. The door was open because the new humans were still taking things out. Taking _my_ big chair.

_No way are they taking that thing away from me._

They were taking all of our things and putting them in a really big box on wheels. My chair was sitting on its side at the back of the box. All of them went back inside and ignored me. _Well, if I'm by myself..._

I hopped into the box and climbed up some _normal_ sized boxes so that I could sit on top of my chair. And it felt so wrong. This wasn't soft. This was disappointing. The humans came back with the smaller chairs from the house and left a few seconds later. I waited until they were out of sight before I went back to the ground and left the big box.

My humans still hadn't noticed that I was gone.

I looked around and finally realized that I was outside. And those damn birds that were always laughing at me were _right there_. So I stalked toward the tree and stared at them. There they were, still laughing. When I lunged up the tree, they all scattered. I locked onto the really big one that was always sitting outside the window and chased after him.

By the time I lost him, I had lost my humans, the big box, and my big chair.

*4 years old*

It's been months since I found this place, and I still couldn't believe that this place had so much food. More than even at the old human's house. I didn't even have a home, and this place had the best food. All I have to do is sit in this smelly thing, and they all but drop the food on me. It was all I could eat, and that was a lot. Every day, I got to eat util I was full, nap, and wake up to eat until I was full again. Not all of it was good, but it was always worth the risk.

I was in the middle of falling asleep when something fell on me, and this time it wasn't food. It was lighter.

_It was picking me up._

A human had me in a net, and he was talking. I think he was talking to me. But I don't speak human, and he just took me away from a perfectly good nap. I tried to bite him when he tried to stuff me into a box barely bigger than me. He dropped a blanket on top of my box, and everything was dark after that. I just felt myself rocking around in the box and heard a loud growling noise come fro underneath me. I tried screaming at the human to let me go, but he didn't listen.

It felt like I was sitting in the dark for years. Then I felt like I was rocking again, two doors opened and closed, and I was finally sitting in silence. A couple seconds passed, then the human opened his mouth again. He made his noises for a few minutes, then he lifted the blanket and opened the box.

I didn't move a muscle until he left ad was gone for a long time. And I always ran back into the box when he came in. I didn't want to eat the food but I was starving, and it was something. Not a good as the never ending meal he took me from, but it was good enough.

Then one day, he walked in the room, I ran into the box, and he shut me in again. I started screaming again, and that monster just laughed. He laughed!

_I'm too young to die._

The doors opened and shut again. The growl appeared, and I was screaming in the darkness the entire time. The human tried talking to me, but I just kept yelling. He doesn't get to talk to me. He catnapped me after all. He took me away from the best food.

But then the growling stopped and the rocking started. Where ever he took me, it burned my nose. My eyes were getting wet. It smelled awful, but I could swear I knew where it was from. I couldn't think of where it was from until I saw the white coat and the needles come out. I started screaming again, but they still stuck my leg a few times and messed with my mouth and ears. By the time we left, I was seething. I was ready to die. I was-

I was hungry. I hadn't eaten in hours and my stomach was growling. I needed food and to be let out of the damn box.

The human took me to another house that wasn't a house, and this time, I could see. Two humans were standing there, and they didn't look happy. I got put on the ground while the male human talked to the older human.

_I need to get out of here._

The only thing I could do was try to open the door with my teeth. It didn't work, but I kept trying because I just wanted to get back to my food.

The young human looked at me through the door. I kept on growling, but I couldn't help but let my guard down a little. She made me think of the small human from when I was a kitten. She made me feel...

Safe.

But I kept growling. I needed to keep this up, or else they would never let me go.

And they didn't.

The young human ended up taking me home. That house was warm and cozy. She fed me as soon as we arrived, and she left me alone.

She left me alone for a whole week, not even trying to pet me. And I liked that. I liked her for it. She was sitting on one of those big chairs, and I happen to like sitting on them too. So I sat down next to her. Then I moved onto her lap and looked up at her. She stared at me, let me sniff her weird paw, and softly scratched my ears.

While I fell asleep, I had a feeling I wasn't going to leave this home for a long, long time.

And I was okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Let me know what you think or if you have any prompts you would like to see.


	22. What Was That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is Halloween in Jack's home!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> As promised, I haven't dropped off the face of the planet again!
> 
> I would like you to know that this chapter is inspired by a true story. Something that my family's cat did when he was very young. He was a sassy little thing, and a lot of Jack's personality comes from him.
> 
> Also, this chapter is a whole lot of fluff and is a lot shorter than usual. I didn't want to drag this one out. Besides, posting something short is better than not posting at all.

Clarke and Lexa had a Halloween tradition.

Well, Clarke had a Halloween tradition, and Lexa joined in because Lexa was more than a little smitten.

Clarke had been watching horror movies all night on Halloween since middle school- as most people did. She loved the adrenaline rush of watching new scary movies every year. She also loved sitting in the dark, stuffing her face with more junk food than she ate in a month. Lexa had never had traditions like that. In fact, she'd never really had traditions. Sure, she did the whole Halloween decorations and Christmas cookies. But she didn't really do anything beyond that. Nothing that really meant anything to her.

This was their second Halloween together. This year, Lexa had made sure she had work off to spend the day watching horror movies with Clarke.

This year, they were ten hours into their marathon before they stopped to order pizza and refill their sodas. Lexa glanced outside.

"It's raining." She muttered.

Clarke looked out the window just as lightning flashed across the sky. A grin took over her face," It's _storming_."

Lexa watched Clarke's excitement grow and felt her heart flutter for more than a moment or two. The fluttering got worse when she watched Clarke get up, disappear into the kitchen, and return with two popsicles. She handed Lexa one of them before opening hers and returning her attention to outside. Lexa tried not to watch her while they sat in silence, waiting for the pizza to arrive. But when it finally did, Clarke's attention never wavered from the storm. Lexa paid the delivery kid and sat the pizza on the coffee table. She didn't go to grab plates because she glanced at Clarke and felt her whole body turn to jelly.

"Clarke?"

"Hm?"

"You know I love you, right?"

Clarke ripped her eyes away from the rain and lightning to stare into Lexa's eyes," Yes, I do. What brings that up?"

"I just...I wanted to make sure you know. And I wanted to tell you that-"

"What was that?" Clarke's eyes shot towards the kitchen.

"What?"

"Shh."

They sat in silence. For a few seconds, Lexa heard nothing but rumbling thunder. And then-

"There! Did you hear it?"

Lexa frowned," Yeah, I did. Was that coming from the kitchen?"

Clarke nodded and stood up. She hesitated for a second. Lexa slipped her hand into Clarke's," Together."

Another nod. The two of them headed toward the kitchen and slowly looked around. It was completely silent. They shared a look and split up to see if something had fallen. Clarke checked the cupboards while Lexa checked the pantry. They had been looking for a couple minutes when-

"I'm pretty sure I just heard it come from the fridge." Lexa frowned.

Clarke opened the fridge door, but everything was in it's place. Her eyes slid upward to the closed freezer door, then she looked at Lexa. After a couple seconds, she reached up and opened the door to the freezer.

Immediately, a big blob of orange flopped to the ground and ran out of the kitchen.

"Jack?" Clarke said in horror.

"What the hell?" Lexa looked at the knocked over box of popsicles, looked at Clarke, then hurried off to find Jack.

He had somehow managed to wiggle his way under the covers of Clarke's bed. Lexa threw the blankets off of him and scooped him into his arms.

"What the-?"

She held out a hand that was somehow covered in sticky chocolate.

"Lexa?" Clarke called.

"In the bedroom. I think Jack stole a popsicle."

"What?"

"Come here!"

Clarke walked in a few seconds later and stopped at the sight," How?"

"I don't know."

Their marathon got put on hold for about two hours while they fought to give Jack a bath and wash the very chocolatey sheets. Lexa was helping put a band-aid on Clarke's hand when Clarke sighed.

"I love him, but I don't understand how he got in the freezer."

"He's a cat. You're not _supposed_ to understand how they do things."

Clarke snorted," He stole our popsicle. He's not just a cat. He's a jackass."

Lexa kissed her hand then kissed her nose," He probably thinks the same thing about us for not sharing with him."

"It's my chocolate, dammit."

"I know, baby. How about we get downstairs before he decides to steal your pizza too?"

"Wait, I have a question."

"Hm?"

"What were you going to say earlier?"

"What?"

"When we heard Jack in the freezer? You were going to say something."

"Oh! Oh, I was just going to say that I'm in love with you."

The biggest grin Lexa had ever seen spread across Clarke's lips," I'm pretty in love with you too, Lexa."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! My cat had gotten himself stuck in a freezer Halloween night when my step mom was watching scary movies. She was alone, and he didn't need a bath. He was just a kitten and really wanted some ice cream too.
> 
> Sorry it's so short! I kinda just wanted to share a story that I know has happened.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Let me know if you want to see anything specific happen!


End file.
